Wanna know how to use the game of bingo for students in your classroom? There’s just so many ways! From use for vocabulary practice to numbers revision to icebreaker purposes, bingo can be used in various manners. And each way ensures that students are connecting dots in their mind, and that they are learning even when they think they’re not!
I’ve always liked to play bingo ever since I was a kid, and I still do, even though it’s sometimes considered an old folks’ game where I’m from. But I love the competitiveness and the speed of it! And you can definitely use this game in your classroom. Let me tell you how!
Bingo activities for students
So below I will outline some bingo games for classroom use! Some are super easy to create, or you can even have students create them themselves. Other require the use pictures and they might be harder to make yourself.
Vocabulary practice with pictures:
A great bingo game for students is one where you either give students cards with pictures on it and you call out the words, and students have to see if the word you called has its counterpart on their card. Or the other way around where you show the picture but say nothing, and students have to match it to the word on their card. This game really helps students connect vocabulary words to their visual meaning.
A way to play a vocabulary game without pictures would be to call out antonyms or synonyms for the words on students’ cards. Fun examples for grammar topics would be:
- To have the base forms of irregular verbs on the cards, and you call out the past tense or past participle
- Or have antonyms for prepositions or pictures on cards and you call out the actual prepositions
- And you can have cards with linking/transition words on them and you call out categories, like: ‘cause or reason’, ‘contrast’, ‘summary’, and ‘sequencing’.
Terminology game:
Another great game of bingo for students is one where you have some terms on students’ cards, and you call out either definitions of these terms or examples of them. An example would be Story Elements Bingo in which you would have words like ‘protagonist’, ‘setting’, and ‘genre’ on students’ cards, and you give them examples from commonly known stories, like “Little Red Riding Hood”, “Narnia”, or “mystery”.
A similar game could be played for the Parts of Speech, in which you would have nouns, verbs, adjectives, etcetera on the cards, and you call out these terms.
Holiday game: You could also make bingo printable cards for a holiday that is coming up, using pictures of things that have to do with that holiday. You call out the terms and students match them to a picture on their card.
Ice breaker bingo for students:
Another fun way to use this game is to use it as an icebreaker. Give students blank bingo cards and have them write random names of students in the class. Then call out specific prompts that students have to find a name to match with, like: ‘Has a pet’, ‘lives close to school’, or ‘speaks more than one language’. This encourages students to mingle and talk to each other in order to find out useful information.
Behavior or participation game:
One last fun way to use bingo would be to use it for positive behavior reinforcement. Give each student a bingo card with prompts on them like: ‘Asked a thoughtful question’, ‘Finished homework on time’, and ‘Brought all their school supplies’. Students must check off each box to complete the card.
So those are some great examples of games of bingo for students you should give a try in your lessons!
Whoops, almost forgot my last tip! If you need a digital bingo for students, then give MyFreeBingoCards a try! You can generate your own bingo cards and then either print them off our use them digitally with your students. Super fun!
Related articles:
Why these 9 fun flashcards games are awesome for the classroom
How to enhance your lessons with vocabulary games your students will love
